Shelter or sleeping tent.



I. SEARLE.

SHELTER 0R SLEEPING TENT. APPLICATION nun FEB. 10, 1910.

'Patnted Dec.20,19 10.

2 BEBETB4EEBT 1.

THE NORRIS pzrzns'cm, wnsnmcmu, n. c.

F. SEARLEI SHELTER 0R SLEEPING TENT.

- nrmouxon nun rm. 16, 1910. a I 979,037, Patented Dec.20,-1910.

a BHBBTHEEET 2.

- 36 HP W/TNE ES- WWW FRANK SEARLE, OF ENNIS, MONTANA.

SHELTER 0R SLEEPING TENT.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Dec. 20, 1910.

Application filed February 16, 1910. Serial No. 544,257.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, FRANK SEARLE, residing at Ennis, in the county ofMadison and State of Montana, have invented a new and Improved Shelteror Sleeping Tent, of which the following is a specification.

My invention, which relates to improvements in that class of tents,capable of being quickly and conveniently set up as a shelter orsleeping compartment, and adapted for being easily folded up fortransportation, has for its object to provide an improved constructionof tent of the character stated, capable of being readily carried as apart of the bodily outfit, and especially adapted to the needs of thehunter, prospector, or civil engineer.

In its generic nature, my invention comprehends an improved arrangementof parts, so designed and capable of being coopera. tively arrangedwhereby the tent may be readily set up on ice, level ground, supported"across a gulch or held above the ground without the aid of pegs orstays.

In its more subordinate nature, my invention consists in certain detailsof con struction and peculiar-combination of parts, all of which will behereinafter fully explained, specifically pointed out in the appendedclaims and illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which Figure l,is a perspective view that shows my tent suspended above the ground.Fig. 2, is a view that shows it set up on unlevel ground and supportedby a wagon tongue. Fig. 3, shows the same as set up on ice. Fig. 4, is ahorizontal section taken just above the ground barsor poles. Fig. 5, isa detail transverse section taken on the line 55 011 Fig. 4. Fig. 6, isa detail perspective view,

I that more especially shows the application of the stretcher members.Fig. 7, is a detail view of one of the hinged side bars hereinafterreferred to. Fig. 8, is a detail view that shows the concaved end of oneof the stretcher members, for cooperating with a pole base. Fig. 9, is aperspective view that shows the tent folded for transportation.

In carrying out my invention, I make the body of the tent of convenientsize, say four by seven feet, and comprising a bottom or floor portion1, of a heavy material, such,

for example, as heavy twenty ounce canvas, the front and back members2-2 and the sides 2 2 said sides and ends being preferably of balloonsilk or light ducking. The bottom 1 is cut wide enough at the oppositelong edges to provide for hemming to form loops 1010 for receiving theside bars or poles 33 that are slid endwise into the said loops, thesaid bars forming the base men1 bers for engaging the ground or ice whenthe tent bottom is supported directly over the ground or ice.

In the most complete form of my invention, I make the side bars 33 asbest shown in Figs. 2 and 3, from which it will be seen the said sidebars comprise two sections joined by a hinge 30 so as to fold upwardly,and with theiredges abutting like a rule joint when the bars areextended, and to stiffen the hinged joint laterally a brace rod 31 ispivotally mounted on one of the bar sections and is adapted to swingover the adjacent section and engage a latch piece 32 on said adjacentsection, as shown. At each end of the foldable side bars 33 is pivot-.ally joined a leg piece 35-35 secured by the bolt 36 and nut 37 andarranged to be swung up next the side bar when the bottom of the tent ison fiat ground or the tent is suspended above the ground, as in Fig. l.The leg pieces 35 have at their lower end, spurs 35 for penetrating theground or the ice when thetent is set up, as shown in Fig. 3. The sidesand ends 22 of the tent have the usual inverted V-shape so that whenjoined and extended vertically they form the usual peak shaped tent.

The tent front is slitted its length to form the doorway as, the edgesof which are lapped or reinforced and provided with the conventionalsnap hook and eye connection as. The sides have their lower ends sewedto the edges of the bottom 1 except at the doorway or slitted portions,by lapping and sewing the edges. The front door or slitted portions havetheir lower fold-back ends provided with a strap and buckle connection afor conveniently drawing the parts tightly together. The back of thetent has a cut-out portion that forms a window opening Z and thisopening has its bottom and side edges reinforced and provided with snapfastenings, 2. The window opening Z is normally closed by the pendentflap portion that is an integral part ofthe back 2 I 4 designatesmosquito netting that is hung on the inside of the back member 2 toclose off the window when the window flap is and these are reinforcedraised. By sewing the front and back and side members of the tent to thebottom as stated and shown, the floor or bottom edges of the tent willbe closed against ingress of dirt, dust, moisture, insects and smallanimals.

Seams 6 are formed at the four corners or edges of the tent to receivethe stay ropes 9,

the upper ends of which join and extend through the peak end of the tentand are formed into a hanger 90.

For cooperating with the foldable side bars 33 stretcher devices areprovided for each end of the tent and these each consist of two halfsection bars 88 whose inner ends have each a series of apertures 80 forcoacting with a lock pin 83 that holds the two stretcher bar sections totheir adjusted positions. The outer end of each stretcher bar section isconcaved as at 8 k, such forming of the ends being provided forconveniently fitting against the common round poles when the latter areused as side bars, as shown in Fig. 8, and the foldable side bars areleft behind on account of weight.

hen used in connection with the side bars 3, the concaved ends of thestretcher sections have pins 85 sufliciently long to pass throughalining apertures 87 in the leg pieces and the ends of the side bars, soas to stiffen the said parts and lock the leg pieces to theirperpendicular position. The outer ends of the side bars project beyondthe leg pieces and said ends are apertured as at 87 for passing throughand tying the lower ends of the guy ropes in the manner clearlyunderstood by reference to Figs. 1, and 2 of the drawings.

By reason of constructing a.tent in the manner shown and described, Ihave provided an economically made shelter that can be readily set up onthe ice or any other level place without the use of pegs, and by joiningthe guy ropes to form a loop at the peak end, the ropes 9 form thesupports for holding the tent above a gulch, or on hilly ground, sincethe sustaining means may be an elevated wagon tongue, as shown in Fig.2, a limb of a tree, as shown in Fig. 1 or a tripod of poles as in Fig.3 and while I have not so shown it, it is obvious that the bottom barsmay be laid on fence posts or chunks, and the top held up by leaning arail across a fence.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim and desire to secure byLetters Iatcut, is

1. A tent having a bottom joined to the lower edge of the tent sides andends, a bar secured to each of a pair of opposite lower edges of thetent, guy ropes secured to the opposite ends of the bars, said ropesextending through the peak of the tent. and formed into a hanger loop.

A tent having a bottom joined to the lower edge of the tent sides andends, a bar secured to each of a pair of opposite lower edges of thetent, guy ropes secured to the opposite ends of the bars, said ropesextending through the peak of the tent, and formed into a hanger loop,and stretcher devices for engaging the said bars.

3. In a foldable tent. the combination with the front, back and sidemembers, cross bars mounted in the lower ends of a pair of oppositesides of the tent, the corners of the tent having seams, guy ropes heldin the seams, whose lower ends fasten to outer ends of the bars andwhose upper ends join and form a hanger loop.

el. In a foldable tent, in combination with the front, back and sidemembers, foldablc cross bars removably mounted in the lower ends of apair of opposite sides of the tent, guy ropes for the four corners ofthe tent, having their lower ends extended for tying to the outer endsof the bars, and whose upper ends join at the peak of the tent and forma hanger loop.

5. In a foldable tent, in combination with the front, back and sidemembers, the lower ends of a pair of opposite members having loops,cross bars removably held in said loops, guy ropes for the four cornersof the tent, fastened to the outer ends of the cross bar and whose otherends oin at the peak of the tent and form a hanger loop.

6. In a foldable tent, at base consisting of side bars, a leg piecepivotally mounted on each end and stretcher devices for spreading theside bars, said devices including means for engaging with and lockingthe leg pieces to their vertical adjustment.

FRANK SEARLE.

Vitnesses G. C. Parsons, Jr., S. V. STE\VART.

